Two Cities, I build mecha in Picheng

Chapter 17 Back to the Black Alley
"I'm going to build a whole set of exoskeleton power armor, and this arm is just a part."

Hearing Li Lin's remarks, Jess pondered for a long time, "It's not enough to rely on the Hextech battery as the energy source for a complete set of power mechs. The cost alone is a problem, and the Hextech crystal is so unstable. ...what do you want to apply it to?"

He objectively gave a simple evaluation of Li Lin's ideas.

"Its main function is to protect the wearer and enhance the human body's ability. In fact, it can be applied to many aspects, such as the porters at the Sun Gate Wharf, the miners who go down the mine pit, and other workers who specialize in manual work."

Li Lin paused for a while, and continued: "But I personally tend to apply it to the military field."

"You have experienced war, so I can understand your thinking." Jess shook his head, not agreeing with his point of view, "But as scientists, what we have to do is not to create a beautiful and peaceful era of progress? Why? Develop arms?"

"Peace? No, Jess, your vision is too limited." Li Lin responded in a muffled voice, "The crisis is approaching, but you haven't noticed it yet. If we want to have a bright future, we must start now. be ready."

Jess opened his mouth with a complicated expression, and in the end all the words were reduced to a sigh.

Speaking of the crisis, he recalled a rebellion in the bottom city against the oppression of the upper city a few years ago.

Jace was just an adult at the time, and he'll never forget what he saw.

Blood-colored smoke covered the sky, and the entire Piltover Canal was almost stained red with blood. Countless dead bodies floated on the surface of the river, and rushed into the Watcher's Sea in the east along the current, becoming food for sea creatures.

That day was called the "Day of Ashes" by the people of the two city-states, and it was also the merciless massacre of the rebels in the bottom city by the law enforcement officers of the upper city.

Although the relationship between the upper city and the lower city has tended to ease in the past few years, he knows very well in his heart that this is only a superficial peace.

The accumulated conflict between the two city-states will break out again sooner or later, but it is only a matter of time.

And this time it will be more serious.

crisis?

maybe……

Maybe Li Lin is right.

Jess took a deep breath, shifting his heavy heart slightly.

"Okay, let's not talk about that, just talk about its current problems... How do you plan to solve the energy problem?"

Li Lin took out the Hex crystal fragment from the power arm and shook it in front of Jess, "Actually, I have already researched some results. If there is a complete crystal, I have... well, 9% certainty that it will Stabilize it."

He didn't speak too harshly, so as not to slap himself in the face in time.

After all, it is the first time to make a Hex energy crystal, and it is reasonable that some accidents lead to the failure of the production.

"... Huh?" Jess showed an expression of disbelief, "You, are you sure you're not joking?!"

It took me half a month of research to make almost negligible progress!
You guy actually said that you are 9% sure that you can stabilize the complete crystal after only studying the fragments for a few days?

I suspect you're cheating on my feelings...

Jess frowned, and a trace of suspicion flashed in Li Lin's eyes.

Li Lin patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "Why am I lying to you? It's not good for me...

"Oh, by the way, I suddenly remembered that the Hex crystals I ordered should have arrived. Do you want to go to Zaun with me?"

Jess: "???"

……

……

Almost an hour passed.

Li Lin and Jess took the screaming machine down to the middle square of Zaun, and returned to the dark alley again.

The haze produced by industrial waste gas and alchemy chemical poisons still enveloped this urban area, eroding every bottom city dweller living here.

As soon as he got off the screaming machine, Jess immediately put on the Hextech breathing filter, looked at Li Linweng and asked in a low voice, "Who did you entrust to help you find the crystal?"

"Your old acquaintance." Li Lin, who had the previous experience, also put on a breathing filter, "The place where you bought crystal shards."

"You mean Ben Suo?" Jess thought for a moment, with a dazed expression, "Didn't that guy say he won't get the crystal until next year?"

"That's because you didn't give enough money."

"Tsk, this is a profiteer." Jess smacked his lips. "Last time, he sold me 50 silver wheels for just one piece of crystal. If you want him to get the complete crystal in advance, it will cost a lot of gold, right?"

"3 gold seas and a complete crystal, if you don't get it before the evolution day, it will be reduced to 1 gold sea." Li Lin glanced at Jess in surprise, "You also know that he is a profiteer? Not counter-offer?"

"That's not necessary, this little money is nothing to the Gilaman family."

What you said is really brazen, those who don't know think that you spend all your own money...

Li Lin complained silently in his heart.

"Where are we going? Isn't Benso's grocery store in this direction?" Jess suddenly found that Li Lin was going in the wrong direction, and asked suspiciously.

"Go to Forgan's Bar first, I have a favor to pay back."

"The last time you and Caitlin were attacked?"

Jess frowned when he remembered that he was also helping to find Caitlin a few days ago, and combined with the meaning of Li Lin's words just now.

"I heard that you didn't get out of trouble by yourself? How did you interact with the people from Dicheng?"

Jess is a native of Mrs. Piltover, and the ideas instilled since childhood are the three basic laws of Progress City:

Invent, discover, and stay as far away from Zaun as possible.

Therefore, when Li Lin said that he wanted to repay the favors of the city people, his first reaction was "trouble".

Li Lin noticed the expression on Jess's face, "From your tone, you seem to have a big prejudice against Zaun?"

"I don't think this can be called prejudice, because it's not just me, most people in the upper city think Zaun is a trouble, okay?"

Jess secretly looked around and made sure that the people from the bottom city closest to him could not hear their conversation, so he lowered his voice.

"Then have you ever realized that Piltover was once a part of Zaun?"

"How is this possible?! Piltover has been a city for 216 years this year..."

"What happened before Piltover was built? Doesn't this place exist anymore?"

Li Lin chuckled, without giving Jess a chance to speak, he immediately added:
"Oshra Vazuan used to be a trading post in the north of the Shurima Empire. Due to the failure of digging a canal, the seawater flooded back, and part of the city fell into the ground, while the other part stood on a cliff.

"The rich and powerful families ran to the more stable upper city, built the current Sun Gate Sea Gate with the help of geographical and environmental advantages, and named this re-emerging city 'Piltover'.

"The so-called Upper City and the Lower City are originally 'sisters' who are in harmony with each other, and the fate of the people in Shuangcheng is even more so. Everyone knows it well, but everyone is unwilling to admit it publicly."

Li Lin's words left Jess speechless, and he didn't know where to refute.

After being silent for a long time, he finally said without confidence: "But there is no record of these in the history books in the Piltover Library..."

"I think with your ingenuity, you should be able to hear that what I said is indeed true."

Jace fell silent again.

His mother told him many bedtime stories when he was a child, one of which was the legend that Janna, the goddess of wind, appeared more than 200 years ago and saved the people from the torrent.

Save the people of Zaun...

Back then, there was no Piltover.

"Just like what I said before, Jess, your vision is too limited to one place."

Li Lin's tone was deep, but there was no irony in the words.

"We are all frogs at the bottom of the well, but whether we stay at the bottom of the well and only look up at the big area above our heads, or jump out of the well to meet the wider world, this is our own choice.

"Since you have chosen to take risks and open up a new era, it proves that you are not a conservative person. You should understand how this deep prejudice will affect your thinking..."

Li Lin didn't finish his words, he wanted to give Jess some time to think for himself, and he believed that Jess could understand what he meant.

Speechless all the way.

After another ten minutes, the two of them finally stopped in front of a bar on the outskirts of the black alley.

The large characters of "Fulgan's Tavern" were engraved on the plaque above the door. The bar was already open for business, and there were a few scattered people sitting in the shop who were drinking or entertaining.

Li Lin looked up, then turned his gaze to Jess who was still "doubting his life", and said with a smile, "Are you going in? Or are you waiting here?"

"..." Jess looked at him hesitantly, "I'm with you."

　Since the timeline of the Battle of Two Cities does not match the setting of the main universe, the current timeline of the main universe is 997, and the timeline of Jinx Wei and the others should be just adults, so the Battle of Two Cities in this book will be substituted into In the time of the main universe, the stealing of the Hex crystal happened in 988, which is the current timeline.

　　If you still can’t figure out the current timeline of the alliance, I can also speculate on some of the detailed timelines that I sorted out, starting from Sion’s killing of Jarvan I 100 years ago, or from the creation of the universe by the Dragon King. , which one do you want (°°)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)